Spencer Tomas | editor-in-chief

If ever there was a flaw in the format of March Madness, it’s that you don’t get to enjoy the incredible moments at home because everything is played at a neutral site.

The last time Duquesne played in front of their own fans, they had eked out a 2-point win over a lowly George Washington team on March 9. It came in front of a two-thirds capacity crowd whose highest expectation for the team was a little run in the A-10 tournament that put them in position to be in position for a NIT bid. They could not imagine what happened next.

Duquesne’s win over Brigham Young University, the greatest moment in Duquesne men’s basketball program history, was seen by just the couple hundred fans who made a 12-hour journey to Nebraska.

On Monday night, the Dukes made their triumphant return to Cooper Fieldhouse, in what was their opportunity to bring the celebration back home. But it was a disappointingly muted celebration. The athletic department tried to put on a “Duquesne Basketball Palooza” a festival outside the arena with food trucks, lawn games and a D.J., but that seemingly fell on deaf ears. Throughout the night, there were never more than a couple dozen people enjoying the moment.

The all-evening event was anchored by the women’s game at 5 p.m., and the men at 8 p.m. The apparent issue that arose is that because it was held on a Monday, people didn’t arrive until after 5 p.m. when they got off work. By that time, the women were already underway, and since a ticket was good for both games, everyone who was already on The Bluff decided to head inside and cheer on the women. Even key Duquesne figures like President Ken Gormley and Vice President of Student Life Leanna Fenneberg had migrated to the confines of the arena. While the outside event was all dried up, the women pulled off an upset victory in front of the loudest and largest crowd I have personally seen for a women’s game besides the City Game rivalry against the University of Pittsburgh. It was an incredible night for that program, but it came at the expense of everything else the Athletic Department had planned.

The men’s game was also a bit of a gut punch. They went down by double-digits early, and never led all evening to an opponent they were expected to beat. As for the celebration? There was none. The banners were hung over the summer and were not acknowledged at any point that evening. It was up to the fans to crane their heads up and notice the new décor. The Atlantic 10 Championship Trophy was displayed in a glass case on the concourse, and that photo opportunity was the only way Duquesne fans interacted with the memories of March. There was no ring presentation that happened Monday — not even an acknowledgment on the scoreboard or from the public address announcer. If you weren’t there in March, you’d think it was just another game.

While the student turnout was impressive, the rest of the crowd was pretty typical of a weeknight game.

Initially there were rumblings that Donald Trump’s rally at PPG Paints Arena would take away from the event, but besides some lines extending down Fifth Avenue, there was no such interference. Duquesne has routinely shared the neighborhood with Penguins games that will draw close to double the crowd in the arena that night, so that excuse is mush.

Obviously, it is time to move on and turn the page, for no other reason than to let this team focus on the season ahead, but the complete lack of buzz for the team’s return to The Bluff felt like a missed opportunity.

That’s especially because Duquesne had done a really remarkable job with reaching out and celebrating with its fans all summer, and Monday seemed like it could have been an emphatic finale as the new season got underway. Instead, it just felt a bit like a dud. Opportunities like these may only come around every 50 years, so  this was disappointing to see.